Loving and Giving - Part 1: The Picture

Study Notes

Life Compelled by Love: Love-Compelled Giving

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

    I want to talk to you about “love-compelled giving” today. Giving is at the center of the heart and ways of God.  Think about it: God gave us life.  Then, when people walked away from him, God gave us his Son.  Jesus, God’s gift to us, gave his life for us.  Jesus gives us his Spirit to empower us, sustain us, and guide us.  Jesus gives us his church to walk with us.  Again, Giving is at the center of the heart and ways of God. And, God’s giving is always motivated by his love for us.  God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.  Jesus loves us so much that he gave his life for us even while we were sinners.

     Because giving is at the heart and ways of God, the more we become like him, the more that giving will characterize our lives too.  And, like it is with God, our giving is to be compelled by love.  Do you believe that?

     I think I’ve believed in love-compelled giving from the earliest days of my life as a Christian.  I saw it in my Dad, who loved to give both his weekly “tithe” and more as he was able.  But, I don’t think that “love-compelled giving” really settled into my heart until I went to India in 1976.  I was doing concerts and meetings in Mysore, a beautiful city in south India https://farm1.static.flickr.com/808/39745980570_8f6e6f1928_b.jpg.  A pastor from a more rural area came to one of the meetings and, afterward, urged me to visit his church to sing and preach there. I said yes. 

     So, on a Sunday morning, as the pastor drove me from Mysore to his church, I learned that his church people were very poor.  He told me that over 70% of his people did not have enough to eat.  Knowing that, I was quite shocked, when I arrived, to experience the welcome I received – with gifts, music, and much fanfare.  After the services, I was treated to an amazing feast on the lawn outside the church. 

     As the pastor and I traveled back to Mysore, I told him how overwhelmed I was by the people’s joy and generosity in spite of their poverty.  I said, “Shouldn’t I send their gifts back with you?”  He said, “Absolutely not!  American missionaries left their homes and families to bring my people the gospel of Jesus.  We believe that giving always will be the result of following Jesus whether you are rich or poor.  I didn’t ask them to do what they did in welcoming you.  The wanted to do it from the depths of their hearts.  Did you not see their joy?” 

     I thought of that life-changing day as I prepared my sermon for you this week.  As I did, I wept in my office just as I wept when I visited that church.  Why?  Because what we see in today’s text is almost exactly what I experienced that Sunday in India.  In our passage, the Apostle Paul spoke of a church who, in the midst of deep trials and extreme poverty, had great joy as they gave with “rich generosity” to others.  I think we have a lot to learn from them.  Let’s consider those two churches mentioned in our passage this week.

The Two Churches:  Macedonia and Corinth

     2 Corinthians 8-9 calls us to further God’s work in the world through love-compelled financial giving.  The issue at the time Paul wrote the letter was that a famine had devasted the mother church of all churches, i.e., the church in Jerusalem.  The famine, that was accompanied by earthquakes, had such an impact on the early churches that it is referred to in the Book of Acts, Roman, Galatians and 1 and 2 Corinthians.  And, it not only Christian and Jewish histories that speak of the famine in Jerusalem but Roman historians too.

     Church people in other cities were summoned to support their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.  Their example of doing so is a part of why we at LAC often send financial support when we learn of natural disasters in our nation and world.  The Apostle Paul was deeply committed to this Jerusalem relief ministry and enlisted churches like the large wealthy church in Corinth to give.  When he did, at first, the people in Corinth had said yes to his fund-raising appeal.  But later, a group of people, who said they were apostles but who were really frauds, called a halt to the Corinthians’ giving so that the money could stay at home in Corinth.  I’ll leave you to speculate on why they might have done that.

     But, there were churches in Macedonia, http://www.jesuswalk.com/2corinthians/maps/achaia-macedonia-map-300x208x72.gif, churches probably as poor and afflicted as the one in Jerusalem, who heard of the mission and begged for the opportunity to be involved in the giving in spite of their own poverty.  And, “my-oh-my” – did they ever give!  Listen to God’s Word:  Their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability (8:2-3).

     It’s clear that, in 2 Corinthians, Paul used the churches in Macedonia as a testimony to how all who have experienced the love of Jesus should give.  There is such a powerful lesson in this.  Sometimes, when Christians give, we don’t tell others about our giving because we are rightly concerned that talking about our financial giving will bring glory to us personally instead of glory to God.  But, there are also good reasons why we sometimes tell about the giving of other believers -- as Paul did here.  Why?

• Our giving is a big part of our witness to the world. People will see that we value the things of God more than we temporary things.  How did Jesus put it?  “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Mt 6:21).”
• Believers learn how to give as they watch other Christians give. That’s why Paul said in 8:1, “Brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.” And, that leads to these words in 8:7b, “So now you, see to it that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

     How will new believers know how to give if they don’t see longer-time believers giving joyously, generously and sacrificially?  How will your children and grandchildren know how to give unless they see it in you?  Financial giving to and through your local church should simply be a way of life – one that is passed on from believer to believer, and from generation to generation.  I believe that even when you make a will, you should consider how your final act of giving might speak to your family and friends about what you value.  I urge you: Don’t leave your church out of that will.

     This kind of giving that we see in the Macedonian church people is what I’m calling “love-compelled giving”.  Do you remember what Paul said in 2 Cor 5?  Church people in Corinth were saying, “Paul, you are out of your mind!  Why would you leave a life of wealth and prestige to go into the world to tell people about Jesus and to be beaten and imprisoned for doing it?  Why would you give so much so that others – even the Gentiles you once hated -- might be blessed?”  His answer?  “The love of Christ is what compels me.  That’s what directs my life.” 

     Today, I’m saying that the love of Christ compels our financial giving too – whether we are rich or poor.  Our God is a giving God.  People who have received his gift of grace love to give too.  So, in the time, we have left, let me tell you a few principles about love-compelled giving we learn from the Macedonians:

Love-Compelled Giving Starts with Fresh Commitments to the Lord – “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord… (8:5a).”

     We often think about following Jesus being a one-time surrender of our lives to Jesus.  And, indeed, our relationship to God begins when we say, “I acknowledge I have sinned and need forgiveness.  Here is my sin.  I turn from it and give it to you.  Here is my life.  I believe in Jesus.”  But, let me tell you what I have learned in my walk with God:  That first step of faith leads to a life of faith.  I wake up in the morning and say, “All I am and have has come from you, O Lord.  Today, I will live for you and not for myself.”  And, when it comes to financial giving, I think we should take time to say, “Lord, you gave your life for me.  All that I have has come from you.  Lord, I want to give as you have given.”

     Do you see how the Bible spoke of the Macedonians? “They gave themselves first to the Lord.”  Only after that did they determine how they would give financially.  This is why we have our offering within the context of our worship services, i.e., it is an act of worship – of putting God first in all things.

     Love-compelled giving is a way of life in which we consistently give ourselves to the Lord.  If you will start as the Macedonians by saying, “Lord, as I determine how to give today, I remember that you gave me all I am and have -- and then you gave your life for me” – then you will find your financial giving will be transformed.

Love-Compelled Giving Is More Often a “We” Than an “I” – “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us (8:5).”

     One question that v. 5 evokes is, “Why did the Macedonians give through their local church and its founding pastor Paul instead of directly to the Jerusalem Church?”  You might say that it just a matter of practicality and expediency, that Paul and his colleague Titus would be going back to Jerusalem so it’s easier to let them take our collective offering back there.  However, when you see the larger teaching of the Bible and the practice of the early church, you will see there is more to it than that.  You’ll see that it is the church as a whole that seeks God’s guidance about where the church family’s giving should be focused.  Back then, as now, there were countless needs in the world.  But each local church, through its spiritual leadership, sought the Lord about which needs they should address.

     In the Old Testament, in Mal 3:10, called God’s people to bring the first of their tithes into the local storehouse – into their place and people of meeting together with God.  The Hebrew word “kal” in that verse is sometimes translated “all” of your tithes.  But, I think the meaning is the firstfruits, the first focus, of your giving – bring that into your local worshipping community.  That’s what the Macedonians did.  They had to learn to trust their founding pastor and their church eldership to have sought the Lord and then to distribute the offering for the purposes for which they were given.

     The point is that, when you enter into a relationship with God as Father, you also become a part of your Father’s global church and a part of a local gathering of that church.  We’re one of those.  We at LAC are a local gathering of God’s eternal family; not merely individual believers.  I believe that too many people simply operate from the notion that “I can discern myself how to decide where I should give.  I don’t need my sisters and brothers to participate in that aspect of my life.”  But, the Bible indicates that this is not true.  Love-compelled giving is more often a “we” than an “I”.

     Here’s the point:  Our lives are compelled largely by an experience of the love of Christ within our local church community.  And, our world will be changed largely through the love of Christ flowing through Christian communities planted in local neighborhoods.  Here at LAC, our elected leaders and pastors have set a number of priorities:

• We’ll focus on the discipleship of those who come into our church family – through our worship together, through providing smaller grace-filled communities for children through senior adults and through facilitating opportunities for each of us to serve in God’s work in keeping with the Spirit’s gifts.
• In our community outreach, we’ll focus on issues related to homelessness, public education, immigration and the reentry of those who leave prison and need support.
• In our global outreach, we’ll focus on bringing the gospel to unreached people who have not had a clear witness to Jesus, especially among Muslim people.
• We will be like the Macedonians and seek God’s guidance about how to reach out to those who go through crises in our world as the Jerusalem church was going through.

     All this is not to say that you should not give directly to other causes as God leads you.  But, I am saying that your giving should begin with your local church.  If you withhold your financial giving from your church family, you will also withhold your love, your prayers, and your service.

Love-compelled giving flows into joy-filled generosity.

     I want you to look again at these remarkable statements found in vv. 2-5:

1) “In spite of being in a severe trail, the Macedonians were filled with overflowing joy in the midst of extreme poverty that welled up into rich generosity (8:2).” 

2) “Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.  And, they exceeded our expectations (8:3b-5a).”

     When I read these verses, two questions jump into my mind.  The first is, “What brings about that kind of joy-filled generosity?”  I know that the answer is the title of this sermon series, i.e., when we have experienced that Jesus died for us out of love for us, our lives – including our financial giving -- are compelled by that love.  To make that point in 2 Cor 8:1-9, the Apostle Paul used the word “grace” 5 times.

     Grace means to be given something that we have not merited and that do not deserve.  Those who have been involved in scouting remember that scouts can earn “Merit Badges” by achieving things or by showing they know how to do something.  Scouts cannot obtain these badges unless they have completed the required activities, thereby “meriting” the badge.  So “unmerited” then means to receive something that you did not earn or something that you do not deserve.  Grace is God’s unmerited favor and blessing.  The Bible is teaching in this passage that those who experience grace will respond by wanting to give to others as God has given to us.  Whether we have little or owe have much, we’ll urgently plead with the Lord to give us opportunities to give. 

     That point brings me to my second question: Why is it that even genuine Jesus-followers do not always have this kind of joy-filled generosity?  This question is worthy of an entire sermon.  But, right now, let me simply say that we still live by faith and not yet by sight.  Until Jesus returns and completes his work in us, we will be prone to having our joy and generosity in giving be affected by things like these:

• Our walks with God having times that feel stale -- This happens in our human relationships, so we should not be surprised when it happens in our relationships with God too.
• The trials of life depleting our emotional resources – When we’re tired, sick, or overwhelmed by responsibilities in life, it’ hard to have joy. God knows that.
• We get angry with or frustrated with our church family – It’s hard to give to the priorities that your spiritual leaders set when your upset with them.

     All these things happen -- and were happening back when 2 Corinthians was written.  The Macedonians were going through extreme afflictions.  The Corinthians were upset with their founding pastor.  From them, I think that the principles we seen today might help you to be faithful in your giving until the joy returns:

1. Make a fresh commitment to the Lord who gave his life to you – Give yourself first to the Lord.
2. Remember that our Father asks that our first place of giving should be to the local church that he has given to us – even when that church is imperfect. Speak into those things you agree with in your church – just as we see happening in 2 Corinthians.  But, do not neglect the grace of giving to and through your church.
3. And let the love of Jesus always flow into generosity. When you do, as you hear what God is doing in the lives of people in your church and that your giving is supporting it, your joy will eventually return.

     My call to us all is to develop a way of life that includes generous giving first to your local church.  That way of life will keep your faithful and in your stewardship through times of staleness, frustration and weariness that always come in this world – and will continue to come until the one who has given us eternal life come to make all things new.

     I leave you just as Paul left his church in v. 9: “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”  Give like that and I assure you it will be to God’s glory and to your joy – Amen.

Chinese Study Notes

為愛所激勵的生命：“為愛所激勵的奉獻”
林後8：1-9

今天我想和你們談談：“為愛所激勵的奉獻”。“給與”是神的心意和神的道的核心。想想看：神賜給了我們生命；當人遠離神時，他又賜下獨生子，耶穌---作為神給人的禮物，為我們捨命；耶穌把他的靈賜給我們，帶給我們能力，又維繫我們、引導我們。“給與”是神的心意和神的道的核心，神的“給與”是因著他對我們的愛。神愛世人，甚至將他的獨生子賜給我們；耶穌愛我們，甚至當我們還是罪人時就為我們死了。

因為“給與”是神的心意和神的道的核心，我們越是像他，就越有“給與”的生命；而且就像神的作為，我們的給與也是出於愛，你相信嗎？

我在幼年就懂得 “為愛所激勵的奉獻”，我看見我爸爸每週不但拿出“十一”奉獻，而且盡力奉獻更多；但我並不覺得 自己懂得這事就會真地實行，直到1976年我去了印度。那時我在印度南部美麗的穆索爾城有一個音樂聚會https://farm1.static.flickr.com/808/39745980570_8f6e6f1928_b.jpg。有一個從很遠的鄉下趕來的牧師邀請我去他的聚會唱詩講道，我同意了。

於是周日一早，牧師就帶我去了他的教會。那是一個非常窮的教會，據說70%的人吃不飽飯。然而我到了之後，卻受到人們用禮物、音樂和許多好東西的熱情歡迎，聚會後還在教會草坪上吃了一頓精美大餐。

在牧師送我返回的途中，我說自己被這些人在極窮間顯出的慷慨和喜樂深深感動，並問是否應該回饋一些禮物。然而牧師卻說：“絕對不要！反而是你們美國宣教士離開故土家庭把福音帶給了我們。我們相信，不論貧貴，‘給與’都是跟從主的標誌。我並沒有要求他們這樣做，他們如此是發自內心的，你沒有看見他們的喜樂麼？”

我在準備今天的講道時想到了這個改變我生命的一天。我在辦公室流淚，像我訪問那間教會時一樣。為什麼？因為今天經文所講的幾乎和印度的那個主日一樣。今天的經文中，保羅提到一個教會也是在極窮之中顯出了樂捐的厚恩。從他們身上，我們有太多要學的了。讓我們看看經文裡的兩種教會吧。

兩種教會：馬其頓和哥林多教會

林後8-9章呼召我們藉著愛所激勵的財務奉獻在世上多做神的工。保羅寫這一段時，世上所有教會的母會---耶路撒冷教會正遭受饑荒很大影響。饑荒伴隨地震衝擊了早期教會。使徒行傳、羅馬書和加拉太書，哥林多前後書，包括猶太歷史書，甚至羅馬歷史學家都提到了這次災害。

其它城市的會眾被召集起來支持耶路撒冷的弟兄姊妹，而他們的榜樣也激勵了我們教會今天常常資助其它國家和地區的賑災工作。使徒保羅對這次救災使命極為委身，他呼籲眾教會包括富有的哥林多教會為此奉獻。開始，哥林多教會滿口答應，但隨後進來一批假使徒，叫停了奉獻。我要請你想想為什麼他們會這樣做。

而馬其頓的教會, http://www.jesuswalk.com/2corinthians/maps/achaia-macedonia-map-300x208x72.gif, 儘管與耶路撒冷的教會一樣的貧窮困苦，但他們一聽到救災的使命，不顧自己的不足，就立即請求在奉獻上有份，他們慷慨給與，聽神的話：在患難的極大考驗中，他們的喜樂之滿和貧窮之深都流露出來，歸入他們慷慨之心的財富。3因為我可以見證他們是按著自己的能力，甚至超過了自己的能力，甘心樂意（8：2-3）

很明顯，保羅在哥林多後書用馬其頓教會的見證告訴所有經歷主愛的人要怎樣給與，這真是一個強有力的功課。有時，我們奉獻時不願和別人多談，擔心談論這樣的財務奉獻會歸榮耀給自己而不是神；但有時我們也有好的理由來談其他信徒的奉獻，就像保羅在這裡寫的。為什麼呢？

• 我們的奉獻是我們對世界的見證的一部分。人們會知道基督徒更看重神的事而非暫時的事，如耶穌所說：“你的財寶在哪裡，心就在哪裡”（太6：21）。
• 當信徒看見其他基督徒給與的時候，他們也學會給與，這就是為什麼保羅在8：1節說：“弟兄們，我們要你們明白神在馬其頓省各教會中所賜的恩典”，又在8：7b 寫道：“你們也當怎樣在這恩惠之事上豐足有餘”。

如果新信徒看不見老信徒喜樂、慷慨和竭力奉獻，他們豈能知道如何奉獻呢？你的子女和孫輩若沒有看見你奉獻，他們豈能知道如何奉獻呢？我們給教會或通過教會的財務奉獻應該是一種生命方式—可以從信徒傳給信徒，從一代傳給一代。如果你為奉獻許願的話，要知道你最後的奉獻行動將會把你的價值觀告訴你的親朋好友，不要讓所許的願在你的教會落空。

我們看見馬其頓教會的奉獻就是 “為愛所激勵的奉獻”。你還記得保羅在林後5章說的嗎？哥林多教會對他說：“保羅，你癲狂了！為什麼你會離棄富有高尚的生活，寧願遭受鞭打監禁也要跑到世界上傳揚耶穌呢？為什麼你給別人那麼多，甚至給了你曾經痛恨的外邦人，你是要得祝福嗎？”保羅的回答是：“基督的愛激勵我，引導著我的生命”。

今天，我要說基督的愛也激勵我們做財務奉獻，不管我們富有還是貧窮，既然我們的神是給與的神，每一個接受他恩典禮物的人也樂於給與。以下是我們從馬其頓教會所學到的一些“為愛所激勵的奉獻”原則。

“為愛所激勵的奉獻”始於對主的完全委身 – “首先把自己獻給了主… (8:5a).”

我們常常想到跟隨耶穌就是一次性將我們的生命降伏於主。但事實上，我們與神的關係始於我們說出：“我認識到自己犯了罪，需要被赦免。這是我的罪，請拿去；這是我的生命，請接受。我信耶穌！”我在與主同行過程中學到：信心的第一步必帶出一個信心的生命。我早晨醒來就說：“我的一切都從你而來，主啊，今天我要為你而活，不為自己！”至於財務奉獻，我想我們應該認真說：“主，你將你的生命賜給我，我的一切都從你而來，我願意效法你奉獻我所有。”

你們看見聖經是怎麼說馬其頓教會的麼？“他們首先把自己獻給了主”，這之後，他們才決定如何奉獻。這就是為什麼我們的奉獻是在敬拜中進行的，因為它就是敬拜的一部分，讓神居首位。

“為愛所激勵的奉獻”是生命的路徑，我們在其中可以不斷將自己獻給主，如果你今天學習馬其頓教會，就會對主說：“主啊，當我今天決定如何奉獻時，我想到你給了我所有的一切，你甚至將生命也給了我”---這樣，你就會看見你的財務奉獻得到昇華。

“為愛所激勵的奉獻”常常是“我們”而不是“我” – “他們首先把自己獻給了主，又獻給了我們(8:5).”

第5節讓我們想到一個問題：“為什麼馬其頓人沒有把奉獻直接給耶路撒冷教會，而是交給了他們的教會和教會創辦人保羅？”你可能說，這可能就是切實可行的方法吧，因為保羅和他的同事提多就要去耶路撒冷了，最簡單的辦法就是請他們帶去。不過，當我們看聖經的上下文和早期教會的運作時，我們就能看到更多。教會其實是一個整體，所以我們要尋求神的帶領，該將奉獻用在什麼地方。世界上有無數的需要，但每一間地方教會都要藉著自己的屬靈領袖尋求神的旨意，如何給到需要的地方。

在舊約瑪拉基書3：10節，先知呼召神的子民將第一個“十一”奉獻帶到地方聚會場所，就是他們聚集迎見神的地方。雖然希伯來字的意思有時指全部的“十一”奉獻，但我認為那意思是初熟的果子，即你奉獻的首先是交給你所在的聚會之處，這就是馬其頓人做的。他們信任他們的創會牧師和教會長老，知道他們會尋求神，將奉獻給到需要的地方。

我要強調的是，當你進入與父神的關係時，你也同時進入父的普世教會和一間地方教會。我們就是其中的一間，我們LAC就是神永恆家庭的一個地方聚會，我們並不是獨立的。我相信許多人都會想“我可以自己判斷如何奉獻，不需要弟兄姊妹在這一點上參與。”但聖經指出這想法不正確，“為愛所激勵的奉獻”常常是“我們”而不是“我”

要點是：我們的生命因為在地方教會中經歷了基督的愛而被大大激勵；我們的世界因為基督的愛藉著地方教會流溢到周圍而被大大改變。在LAC, 我們的牧師和教會領袖設立了以下優先次序。

• 我們強調教會信徒的門徒訓練，藉著我們一起的敬拜，藉著為長者、兒童提供充滿恩典的環境，藉著各種事奉機會使大家發揮屬靈恩賜。
• 我們的外展事工要側重在關心無家可歸者，公共教育，移民和監獄事工。
• 我們的國際事工要把福音帶給未得之民，特別是穆斯林。
• 我們要效法馬其頓教會尋求神的帶領幫助耶路撒冷教會，去幫助世上處於危機中的人，

這並不是說你不能按神的帶領直接奉獻給其它地方，我是說你的奉獻要首先給你的教會；若你沒有對教會的委身，就不能在愛心、禱告和服事上委身。

“為愛所激勵的奉獻”流溢著充滿慷慨的喜樂

我要你們重新看看2-5節感人的描述：

1）在患難的極大考驗中，他們的喜樂之滿和貧窮之深都流露出來，歸入他們慷慨之心的財富（8：2）

2）因為我可以見證他們是按著自己的能力，甚至超過了自己的能力，甘心樂意，4用許多乞求的話，懇請我們在對聖徒的服事上給與他們恩准和分享的機會；超過我們所盼望的（8：3-5a）

我讀的時候，有兩個問題跳出來，第一個“是什麼讓他們有著充滿喜樂的慷慨？”我知道答案就是今天講道的題目，即當我們經歷了耶穌為我們舍己的大愛，我們的生命和我們的一切都會被愛所激勵。在林後8：1-9，保羅五次使用了“恩典”這個詞。

恩典意味著讓我們得到我們不配得、憑自己得不到的東西。童子軍可以靠自己的努力得到獎牌，但必須完成要求的任務，所以是掙得的獎賞。“不配得”意味著你得到的東西不是你掙得的，是本來與你不配的。恩典是神給不配之人的祝福。聖經教導說，那些經歷了恩典的人都願意把從神領受的也分享給他人，不管我們貧窮富有，我們都會求主給我們機會去給與他人。

我的第二個問題就是從這一點出發的：“為什麼許多耶穌的真信徒常常做不到這種充滿喜樂的慷慨之舉呢？”這問題需要一整篇講道來討論，但我在這裡一言以蔽之說，就是我們仍然是憑眼見而非憑信心生活，在耶穌再來完成對我們的計畫之前，我們喜樂與慷慨的奉獻可能會受制於以下的事：

• 我們與主同行時會疲乏---對此，我們在人際關係中都有經歷，在與神的關係中也不應奇怪；
• 生活的考驗消耗了我們的情感資源---當我們匱乏、軟弱、在生活中疲於奔命時，很難有喜樂，神知道我們。
• 我們對教會大家庭有怒氣，有糾結---當你對教會領袖有看法時，很難擺正你的優先次序。

這些在寫哥林多後書時都發生了：馬其頓教會經歷著極大的考驗，而哥林多教會則對他們的創會牧師有成見。我盼望今天我們所學的原則，可以幫助你在奉獻上忠心，你就會看到喜樂重新臨到：

1. 向賜你生命的主重新委身---把你自己首先獻給主；
2. 記住天父要我們首先把奉獻交給我們的地方教會---即使教會不完美。這樣說是要你與自己的教會認同，這也是本卷書的教導；請不要忽視藉著教會的恩典給與。
3. 讓基督的愛總是藉著你流溢出慷慨。你如此去做，就可以看見：藉著你的奉獻，神在你教會做工，而喜樂就會重新臨到你。

我今天對你們的呼召就是開啟一個生活方式，將你的慷慨奉獻首先給你的地方教會；這個生活方式可以幫助你在世上遇到疲乏、軟弱、掙扎時仍然可以保持對信仰的忠心和責任心，可以繼續前行，直到賜我們永恆生命的那位再來讓萬事更新。

我以保羅在第9節對教會所說的結束：“因為你們知道我們主耶穌基督的恩典：他雖然富足，卻為你們成了貧窮，好使你們藉著他的貧窮可以成為富足”，我確保你如此的奉獻將使神得榮耀，使你得喜樂---阿門！

榮耀歸給神！
Greg Waybright 博士
主任牧師